19 November is International Men’s Day. For companies, it can be an occasion to give male employees a space to talk about pressure, changing roles, fatherhood or exhaustion. Some companies already have a format for women, such as a network or an event for International Women’s Day on 8 March, and are now looking for something that works for men. Below you will find nine ideas, from a short lunchtime discussion to an event with a barbecue, plus things to leave out and a checklist.
When is International Men’s Day – and what is Men’s World Day?
International Men’s Day is observed every year on 19 November; in 2026 it falls on a Thursday. In its present form, it goes back to 1999, when the historian Jerome Teelucksingh of the University of the West Indies started it in Trinidad and Tobago (History & background). The six objectives named by the organisers include promoting positive everyday male role models, not just film stars and sportsmen, focusing on men’s health and wellbeing, and improving gender relations (Objectives of IMD). The 2026 theme on the international website is “The Future is Everyone”.
19 November is not an official UN day: it does not appear on the United Nations’ list of international days. Its organisers are campaigning for it to be added (United Nations).
It should not be confused with Men’s World Day on 3 November (in German, Weltmännertag), which goes back to an initiative of the City of Vienna in 2000 and focuses on men’s health (Falter, 2000, in German; Meryn & Jadad, 2001). Nor does 19 November have anything to do with Father’s Day. Movember also falls in November: the movement, which began in 2003 in Melbourne, puts men’s health in the spotlight every November, with a focus on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer (Movember).
Why the day makes sense at work
A few figures from Switzerland show, without dramatising, what it can be about:
- Life expectancy: in 2025, life expectancy at birth was 82.7 years for men and 86.3 years for women (provisional figures from the Federal Statistical Office, in German).
- Treatment: in the Swiss Health Survey 2022, 6.0 per cent of men had been in treatment for psychological problems in the twelve months before the survey, compared with 9.5 per cent of women. Women in the survey also report symptoms of depression and anxiety more often, though (Obsan Bulletin 11/2024, in German).
- Suicide: of the people who took their own lives in Switzerland in 2023, almost three quarters were men, not counting assisted suicide (Federal Statistical Office, 2024). Anyone in an acute crisis can reach Die Dargebotene Hand around the clock on 143; English-language support is available on 0800 143 000 from 6 to 11 pm.
- Exhaustion: in the 2022 Job Stress Index of Health Promotion Switzerland, 30.3 per cent of people in work felt emotionally exhausted, the first time since 2014 that the figure was above 30 per cent (Job Stress Index, in German). The figure covers women and men together.
- Work-life balance: in the second quarter of 2024, 14.3 per cent of fathers with a child in the household worked part-time, compared with 74.9 per cent of mothers (Federal Statistical Office, 2025, in German).
A single event will not solve any of this. But it can show that these things may be talked about in your company, and make sources of support known. Why many men find talking hard is something I describe in the article why men stay silent.
Nine International Men’s Day ideas for the workplace
1. A short input and a facilitated discussion
A short input on one topic, followed by reflection questions and a facilitated exchange: an hour is enough. In its discussion guide for International Men’s Day 2025, the organisation Catalyst suggests this flow, for example: a 20-minute opening with a short talk, 15 minutes of small-group discussion, 10 minutes with the full group and 5 minutes of personal reflection. It also suggests reminding participants at the start that this is a space for exploration, not blame (Catalyst, 2025).
How to do it: choose a topic that genuinely concerns your employees, and someone who can facilitate without lecturing. What an International Men’s Day event for your employees can look like in practice is described on a page of its own.
2. A lunch and learn
An input followed by a discussion over lunch, about an hour long, fits easily into the working day. People can eat while they listen, and nobody loses a whole afternoon. A social part can follow separately in the evening.
How to do it: announce a concrete topic, such as “pressure and performance at work”, rather than just “men’s health”. Leave enough time for questions.
3. A small men’s circle
Not everyone wants to say something personal in front of 40 colleagues. A small group, meeting once or regularly, makes room for what has no place in a large circle.
How to do it: keep the group small, agree at the start that what is said in the room stays in the room, and offer a guiding question, such as: “What drained your energy most at work this year?” Nobody has to speak.
4. Walk and talk
A conversation on the move, in pairs or threes, for half an hour over lunch. Some people find it easier to talk side by side than across a meeting table.
How to do it: prepare two or three questions on cards, pair people up across teams and pick a quiet route.
5. A fathers’ discussion group on work-life balance
Since 1 January 2021, employed fathers in Switzerland have been entitled to two weeks of paid leave (ten working days), to be taken within six months of the birth. Since 2024, the law calls it “leave for the other parent” (FSIO, in German). A session for fathers and fathers-to-be can clarify what applies in your company, how others have used their leave and how part-time work or flexible hours work in practice.
How to do it: invite someone from HR for the facts and two or three fathers to share their experience. How invisible family work can wear you out is explained in the article on mental load.
6. Leaders share their own stories
Positive everyday role models are one of the stated objectives of International Men’s Day. When a head of department talks about how he got through a difficult phase, or why he works part-time, it shows that openness has a place in this company.
How to do it: ask two or three leaders early, give them time to prepare and no rule on how personal it has to get. Five honest minutes are enough.
7. Make support visible
An event is a good opportunity to make sources of support known:
- the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), if your company offers one
- the family doctor as the first point of contact for health concerns
- Die Dargebotene Hand on 143, personal, anonymous and confidential (English-language support: 0800 143 000, from 6 to 11 pm); in an emergency, the ambulance on 144
How to do it: make the numbers permanently visible, for example on the intranet, not just on 19 November. The article why it’s okay to seek help explains where to turn in Switzerland.
8. Take part in Movember
Movember has a page of its own for companies: employees form a team and raise funds during November, and the company can match what the team raises or host an event on site (Movember at your workplace).
How to do it: combine the fundraising with content, such as a short input on men’s health, so that it is about more than the moustache.
9. A social event with substance
Barbecues and drinks after work are popular, and a relaxed setting can make conversation easier. To make it more than an after-work beer, put an input with a discussion of about an hour at the start, from around 4 pm for example, and move on to the social part afterwards.
How to do it: give the content part a fixed slot in the programme, not after the food.
Topics for a men’s discussion at work
- Pressure and performance at work
- Stress, recovery and sleep
- Changing roles, in line with the 2026 theme “The Future is Everyone”
- Fatherhood and work-life balance
- Emotions at work
- Friendship and isolation among men (more in the article on loneliness in Switzerland)
- When and where men look for support
- Role models: who shaped you, and what do you pass on?
Ask your employees beforehand, for example with a short anonymous survey, what is on their minds.
What to leave out
- Barbecue without content: a nice evening, but no space to talk.
- Clichés: beer as a gift, tools, jokes about men who never listen. They confirm exactly the stereotypes that could be talked about.
- Pressure to open up: compulsory attendance, or a go-round in which everyone has to share something personal in turn. Voluntary participation is the foundation.
- Men versus women: the day is not a competition with women’s formats. The UK employer guide calls it a very inclusive event that does not seek to create a competition, and encourages women and girls to take part as well (International Men’s Day UK).
- A one-off with no follow-up: an event without a next step stays an episode. Plan at least a follow-up session, a contact person or a permanent note on the intranet.
- Playing therapist: a company event is no place for diagnoses or treatment.
Checklist: how to plan the event
- Goal: what should be different afterwards? Enabling exchange, making support known, opening up a topic?
- Audience: a space for men only, or open to everyone? Both are possible. Decide deliberately and say so in the invitation.
- Format and date: over lunch, from 4 pm or with a social part. It does not have to be 19 November; the week before or after works too.
- Language: in international teams where English is the working language, plan the event in English, or ask participants which language they prefer.
- Facilitation: internal or external? What matters is someone who can lead a conversation without judging, and who knows where to refer people when serious issues come up.
- Voluntary and confidential: taking part is voluntary. What is said in the exchange stays in the room and is not passed on to managers.
- Setting: room, food and drink, and an invitation with a concrete topic and a clear duration.
- Follow-up: ask for brief feedback, send out materials and sources of support, and agree on the next step.
If you would rather not facilitate it yourself
I offer events like these as a facilitated format: short inputs, reflection questions, a facilitated exchange and open discussion, with activating exercises added depending on your goals, in English or German, on site in the Zurich area or online on request. Alongside one-to-one coaching, I run men’s evenings in small groups. How an International Men’s Day event could work in your company is described on a page of its own; other topics and formats are on the page workshops and talks for companies.
An event like this is not therapy and does not diagnose. Anyone who has felt low for weeks is best advised to see their family doctor first; in an acute crisis, Die Dargebotene Hand is there on 143. Where the line between coaching and therapy runs is explained in the article coaching or therapy?.
Conclusion
International Men’s Day is a good starting point for talking at work about things many men otherwise keep to themselves. It does not take a big programme: a clear topic, good facilitation, voluntary participation and a next step are enough. And if you see the day as a complement to women’s formats rather than a competition, you create an event for the whole team.